Chapter 64

The next morning Emma looked at herself in the mirror and immediately wished she could get her hands on some concealer. The black shadows under her eyes looked frightening, almost ghoulish. She rubbed her cheeks to bring some colour back and draw the attention away from her eyes, but when she examined her face again she scowled. Nothing would hide those damn bags.

Emma was thankful that other people were in the dining room when she arrived for breakfast, thereby avoiding any awkward silences with Aedan. She filled everyone in on the remaining tasks; helping Dagna and Zerlinda, and retrieving the stolen tome for the Shaperate, among other things. As they were already in the Diamond Quarter, Emma pointed out that they should visit the Shaperate a complete some outstanding tasks. They found Orta and handed over the documents which proved her ties to the House of Ortan. The Shaperate recorded the Legion of the Dead insignia and were overjoyed to receive the tracings of those who became golems. It took most of the day to complete the remainder of the tasks, but eventually, they left Orzammar with a promise to Dagna to visit the Circle and put forward her request. Emma couldn't wait to get in her tent; she'd noticed the glances from the other companions, especially Zevran, who'd stared pointedly at her bare finger for a few moments before looking away. There'd been even more sideways stares thrown her way when she purchased a tent from Bodahn. Of course, that had brought back memories of her first time with Aedan, and she bit her lip to help fight back the storm of emotions that surged through her. Fortunately, she didn't have the same issues with the tent as she'd previously had; she certainly didn't need to draw more attention to herself. She was getting enough of that already, just not from the man that she wanted to notice her.

-x-

The days passed in a blur as they commenced their journey to the Brecilian Forest. Emma began training to become a healer, and as they spent time together, she learned about the spirit that inhabited Wynne. The group's bond grew as more stories were shared around the campfire late at night. One evening, when only Wynne, Leliana, Aedan and Emma remained, Zevran shared his reasons for taking the job to kill the Grey Wardens. As the story unfolded, Leliana moved closer to him, laying her hand on his knee in a comforting gesture. When the group finally broke up, the two rogues made their way to Zevran's tent. Emma smiled, happy that they'd found each other.

As she turned towards her tent, she caught sight of Aedan watching her. Meeting his gaze a spark of desire and need flared between them, so palpable that she half expected to see it. With a painful determination, she managed a smile and a nod before rushing off to her own tent. She tied up the tent flap, undressed and slipped into her bedroll and only then did she allow the tears to fall.

The next evening, perhaps inspired by Zevran's honesty, Leliana told her tale. This time Zev offered comfort to the bard, and at the end of the evening, the two once again disappeared into a tent. Emma didn't glance over to Aedan this time but made a beeline for her sleeping quarters. Seeing the love in his eyes the night before and being unable to go to him had been painful and not something she wanted to repeat. She wondered if she'd return to her world when the blight had ended now that nothing tied her to Thedas anymore. She huddled in her blankets, cold and indescribably lonely as she willed herself into a restless sleep.

-x-

At long last, they reached the Dalish camp, and as per the game, they were greeted with hostility. Emma was in no mood for their rude remarks today and gazed at the elves with a dangerous glint in her eyes.
"Stop right there, outsider. The Dalish have camped in this spot. I suggest you go elsewhere, and quickly."
Aedan spoke with the woman who agreed to let them enter, uttering her warning as they walked past. "In the camp, I suggest you keep your hands to yourself and remember…"
"Yeah, yeah. Your arrows are trained on us… blah, blah, blah!" Emma said in a caustic tone. The elven woman glared at her, but Emma just smirked and followed everyone into the camp.

They were led to Zathrian who filled them in on the events that had recently taken place, and made it impossible for him to fulfil his obligations. Aedan accepted the mission to retrieve Witherfang's heart and free Zathrian's hunters from the curse of the werewolves. "Just once, I'd like to hear someone say that they're ready, willing and able to fight the Blight. Just once," Aedan grumbled.
Emma chuckled. "Nah, that would be much too easy. Besides, this mission is kind of cool."
He snorted and his expression was one of disbelief. "How do you figure that?"
She grinned. "Werewolves. Need I say more?"
He shook his head but chuckled. Emma felt a warm happiness at the easy banter between them; it was a nice change from the strained politeness they had both adopted towards each other.

Only minutes after entering the forest, they were attacked by a pack of wolves. One of the large creatures sat back on its haunches and howled, long and loud. Even after months of fighting off wolves, she felt just as squeamish as she had in Ostagar, especially when they whimpered. However, she did her best to block out the sounds and focus on the fight. With the wolves dead, they moved further into the thick forest until they came to a small wooden bridge; and standing on the other side of it were Swiftrunner and his friends.

Emma got her first good look at the werewolf and was a little unnerved by the very, very sharp teeth that filled his mouth. Bloody hell! Surely, they hadn't looked that lethal in the game? The conversation got underway and as always, Swiftrunner disappeared back into the trees after leaving them with the ominous words that the forest would deal with Aedan and his team as it did with all intruders.
"Cheerful fellow, isn't he?" Zevran quipped.
"Yeah, I'm sure some flea powder would help his mood. Did you notice how much they were all scratching? That has got to be annoying," Emma replied, only half joking.

They'd gone no more than a hundred yards when the werewolves attacked; Emma focused on the pack, throwing out spells and hexes to help take them down as quickly as possible. In doing so, she failed to notice the lone werewolf that crept under the cover of a thick hedge until it was close enough to pounce. It landed on her back with its full weight and she went down with a grunt as the air left her lungs. Stunned by the force of the impact, she couldn't fight back, however, the hot, fetid breath of the beast helped to remind her of the danger. She had a split second to feel completely helpless, trapped beneath its large body, and then suddenly the weight was gone and she could move again. Shakily, she pushed herself into a standing position and saw Aedan taking down the big werewolf.

As he turned towards her, she offered him a grateful smile and received only a polite nod in return. Well, so much for the return of their easy banter; apparently that didn't fit in with his rules for keeping his distance from her. As they moved forward, she sheathed her staff and straightened her cloak, covering an overlooked swollen, red bite mark on her neck.